Recently, I've had occasion to ask several different scientists on several different projects why their particular lines of research haven't been studied more. Unsurprisingly, the …
Month: June 2009
Mourning and learning
Yesterday was a busy day for celebrity media coverage, with actress Farrah Fawcett losing her battle with cancer and King of Pop Michael Jackson dying …
Getting a good night's sleep
You're not likely to get well at the hospital if you can't sleep. A new program at Stanford Hospital & Clinics recognizes this fundamental idea …
DOA: Dead on assessment
Year: 1989 Setting: Medical office in We, New Caledonia Position: First and only private general practitioner on the island As I am consulting with patients …
Don't it make your brown eyes green
A woman with dark-brown eyes has identical-twin green-eyed daughters. Their dad also has brown eyes, as did everyone else in the previous three generations, with …
The link between teen depression and suicide
Teen suicide often gets sensationalized by the media, says Frances Wren, MD, a child psychiatrist who directs the Child and Adolescent Depression Clinic at Lucile …
Victor Fuchs on federal health insurance
Victor Fuchs, PhD, one of the nation's foremost health economists, says a government-run plan will not solve the huge financial issues that plague health-care in …
STD saved the doctor
Year: 1983 Setting: Branch of the St Francis Hospital, Ikoyi island in Lagos, Nigeria Position: Only European private general practitioner in Lagos A few days …
Beyond compare
The concept behind comparative effectiveness research seems simple enough. Researchers would compare two or more strategies for treating a specific illness and then determine which …
Stimulating science
Federal stimulus funds are beginning to be distributed, and among the initial awards from the National Institutes of Health are 18 projects at Stanford, ranging …
The high-cost capital: Key to health reform?
There's been so much talk lately about health care reform and runaway costs, but nothing really quite gets to the heart of it as much …
Information overload harming patients?
Champion of bed-side medicine, Abraham Verghese, MD, advises his medical students at Stanford to meet their patients first then scour the overwhelming amounts of medical …
It's official: There's a swine-flu pandemic
The World Health Organization has officially declared a swine-flu pandemic. While somewhat anti-climactic from a news perspective, the action does promise to spur accelerated development …
Old blood scores against new pig-brewed flu
It looks as though older people have been around long enough to have been exposed to influenza viruses at least somewhat similar to the H1N1 …
I need this like a nail in the head!
Year: 1994 Setting: Chevron hospital in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea Position: Chief Medical Officer 2 a.m., a nurse wakes me up: Doc, there …
Finding the key to surviving breast cancer
A woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer must run through a thicket of decisions. She can choose a variety of drug regimens, some more …